Tenants of the Azure
by Az-Bebere
Summary: Noel, µ-12 and their doppelgängers all share one body. This story will show the struggles for control, the disputes from their wildly different characters and the discussions when always fighting for control is too difficult amongst the tenants of the Eye of the Azure. Inspired by Azuri-nyan's story, Doppelganger. Third up: Enter the godslayer's shadow
1. Noelle's ill-timed come-back

**Hi everyone! Welcome to the first item of a drabble series inspired by Vesperian-Ivia-Elemental's oneshot, Doppelganger.  
**

**First element of this series: Noelle decides to do her come-back…but methinks she could have chosen a better time. This drabble is born from my theory on why did Noel survived Noelle's attack in Doppelganger: Mu wanted Noel to stay the active tenant and so repelled Noelle's assault.  
**

"Text written in roman"** denotes someone talking in the real world, **_"Text written in italic"_** denotes someone talking in Noel & Noelle's shared headspace and _"Text written in bolded italic"_ denotes someone talking both in the headspace and outside in the real world.****.  
**

**Disclaimer: BlazBlue and its characters are not my property, but are Arc System Works's. Noelle is Vesperian-Ivia-Elemental's property.**

**Before closing this author note, I'll thank Vesperian-Ivia-Elemental for her authorisation to use Noelle and for having served as my beta reader.  
**

**Please enjoy that story!**

* * *

Noel was at the Cauldron, locked by an ars and she was quite perturbed with Hazama's revelations. "Yes, YES! That's that pretty face I wanna see! More…MORE! Feel the hate!"

And, naturally, the scene wasn't much better in Noel's headspace…_"You know Noel, he's right. Being a pathetic push-over of a goody two shoes like you are only brought us harm and misfortune. If you had reacted to Jin's hate, Tsubaki wouldn't have believed you wanted her place in Jin's mockery of a heart. If you had left that blasted major to his devices, Hazama wouldn't have manipulated you. Let me out and I'll show you how you should have acted!"_, whispered Noelle to Noel's ears, in the bedroom that serves as their headspace while Noel is in control.

"U-ugh…_N-no…I won't let you…You'll harm my friends…_", replied Noel to her dark double.

"_Ugh, all right, all right! Damnit. I won't hurt your stupid little friends — even though it's strongly appealing right now — okay? Unless you consider that poor excuse for a superior officer a friend. Jin will rue the day he crossed me!",_ said Noelle.

"Or should I start killing the people you care about? Hmm… Let's see… Maybe I'll do Tsubaki first… Or Jin?", said Terumi, oblivious to the conflict in Noel's mind, but not to her turmoil.

"_You're pathetic, a wuss! You can't do anything right...Let me out and I'll stop him from ever harming those inferior losers you call your friends!"_, said Noelle, a taunting edge to her voice.

"Wha…!? _I…I…can…save…them…_", said Noel, more and more doubting herself.

"You wouldn't want me to do that, would you? You better hurry then!", said Hazama, taunting Noel.

"Ah…aaaah! _I…I…can…I…can't_", said Noel, finally giving up.

"_Yes, you're right, you can't stop him. So let me out! I'll show you how to fight, I won't be as clumsy as you. We're a talented gunslinger and we were almost stopped by a boy playing with dolls! That should never have happened! Let me out and I'll show you what should have happened: I'll crush him like a bug!"_, ranted Noelle.

"_**No, I don't want it…I don't want this world! I don't know anything! Myself!"**_, whimpered Noel, breaking down and retreating in the depths of her mind.

"_At long last!"_ said Noelle, chuckling dazedly from her vantage point in Noel's headspace which was steadily crumbling into a grey void. _"Your will is crumbling, my liberty is at hand! Ha-ha-ha! Finally!"_ She raised her apathetic gaze and looked over the area. _"Hmm…time to redecorate too."_ she muttered to herself, while shifting the grey void into the dark forest which is her realm.

"Now…! Murakumo activate!", said Hazama, calling upon Noel's true self.

"_What? What's happening?"_, said Noelle, frantically looking around her while her headspace was shifting to a white, featureless expanse with a blue light shining in the distance.

"_Bolverk is breaking down and Noel will awake to her true calling. As for you…"_, said a cloaked girl shimmering into view, in all points similar to Noelle if it were not for her eerie blue eyes and the horns on her head. At a second glance, said horns are revealed to be part of her headpiece.

"_Shut up! You won't deprive me of my freedom any longer! I_ _will taste the world and you won't stop me!"_, said Noelle, rushing towards the girl, rage twisting her features.

"_This world…"_, bitterly said the girl, shaking her head. Then, in a flash, she was suited in a light armor with wings of blades and, before Noelle's strike could connect, she caught her and trapped her in a cage of energy.

"_No! You won't!"_, shrieked Noelle, frustration and a hint of fear plain on her face.

"_This world of unending suffering…This world of everlasting torture…This world of endless despair…The world created by the hands of the gods…Everything is false, everything is a lie! The final days have come…Now, let everything be destroyed…starting with you!"_, said the girl, while unsheathing a flaming sword. Then, she vanquished Noelle with a heavy sword strike, _"You __fulfilled your role pitiful being, you weakened my shell. Now, it is time for me to destroy the world so that I, at last, can die."_. And with these words she faded out of this now empty headspace.

* * *

**Perhaps next time Noelle won't attack when Mu is just behind her gunning for the exit****…**  


******Before leaving, some information on the series: i****ts name comes from the fact that neither Noel nor Mu are quite the landlord of the Eye of the Azure's body: at best, Mu is the former landlord who got knocked out for a long time by Take-Mikazuchi**** — **to the point of losing her claim to ownership** — **and Noel is just acting landlord.  


**This drabble series will star Noel Vermillon, Mu-12 and their doppelgängers: Noelle — Noel's doppelgänger and an OC of Vesperian-Ivia-Elemental, who stars in this drabble — and Mu's as of yet unnamed doppelgänger, who might make her appearance in the next entry.**

**I'll stop that rambling author note, thank you for reading and ask you to please review. Goodbye *bows and exits***


	2. Discussion in a wasteland

**Hi everyone! Welcome to the second item of a drabble series inspired by Ivy Lockheart's oneshot, Doppelganger.  
**

**Second element of this series: Discussion in a wasteland. This drabble is born from asking myself what would Noel and her doppelgänger do while μ-12 is the active personality, besides licking their wounds and bickering.**

**Disclaimer: BlazBlue and its characters are not my property, but are Arc System Works's. Noelle is Ivy Lockheart's property.**

**Before closing this author note, I'll thank Ivy Lockheart for her authorisation to use Noelle and for having served as my beta reader.  
**

**Please enjoy that story!**

* * *

After Mu's takeover, and having calmed herself, Noel was trudging in her headspace, searching for _something_ to do. But that white endless expanse with an unmoving blue light shining in the distance and then the grey void she found herself in when she went deeper in the recesses of her mind proved to be as dreary as they sound.

"Is there someone here? Am I condemned to this place of emptiness and boredom? Was that Noelle's life all this time? …Tsubaki…Makoto…I miss you…", Noel wondered, falling down on her knees.

Then, she got back up and continued her endless journey. "At least, it's something to do…Jin…Tsubaki…forgive me…".

After sometime, she saw a form in the distance. "Ah! Perhaps that's someone who can help me!", exclaimed Noel while running towards the form.

Approaching, she saw that the form was that of a dark-clad blonde girl, banging her fists on the ground. Still approaching from behind, she saw that said girl sported scratches and bruises all over her body and began to hear some words. "Damn it, damn it, damn it allllll! I was so close, so cloooose! If that goddamn doll hadn't butted in…".

Suddenly, the crouched girl whirled around and Noel saw that it was her doppelgänger, completely dishevelled, her sash torn at places, sporting a feral expression and iridescent black eyes, "You! What are you doing down here, gloating on my failure?", said Noelle. "It's your fault that I'm trapped here, you pathetic scum, your faaauult! Unless you want me to put you out of your misery, go back to controlling our body and screw up with everything you do! …Except screwing me up, of course.", Noelle then said, bitterness and rancour seeping in her tone by the second.

"Th-that's not true!", cried out Noel, "I don't even know why we're in this place…", she said, bowing her head in despair. "Oh, but I do…if you weren't so much of a pathetic crybaby, Bolverk would never have broken and that blasted doll would never have interfered!", replied Noelle.

Was it because of Jin's harsh treatment during her tenure as his aide? Of the harrowing day she had with the fight against Tsubaki and Hazama's revelations? No matter why, she snapped, here and now. "E-E-ENOUGH!", Noel shouted, without much authority, but with enough force to take aback Noelle.

"Oh? So the worthless trash got some teeth…" said Noelle, smirking. "But listen, I'll give you a good piece of advice: you shouldn't try to go against your betters, foolish insect." She resumed a fighting stance, boasting confidence.

"No! You listen! _You_ are the one always saying I can't do anything right! _You_ are the one always feeding my doubts! _You_ are the one who helped captain Hazama put me in such a state! It's _your_ fault Bolverk broke…I hate you!", ranted Noel, advancing on Noelle and poking her chest with every sentence.

"Stop right here little girl. It is your fault we're down here: you were the one in control, you should have stopped Bolverk from breaking down. To say it's a memento of your childhood and you're unable to keep it whole…pathetic…", replied Noelle with a patronising tone, pushing Noel back and sporting an insincere placating expression.

"And even that is your fault! How could I have known Bolverk was linked to my emotions? And in any case, _you_ were the one who broke my resolve!", replied Noel, getting ticked off that everyone puts the blame on her.

"Ok, ok, I'll grant you that…but without your whining and you being your usual hindering self, I could have dealt with that thrice-damned doll interference!" Noelle started to rant.

"Talking about that: why are you blaming me for Mu's interference? I was fleeing at that time! That one is purely your fault: I'm not supposed to do your job and check where are the others when you stage a hostile take-over!", said Noel, channelling her superior for an instant.

"Why, I oughta…", Noelle said, summoning her scythe, when she suddenly winced in discomfort, "Damn…I'll give you this round, maybe next time weakling.". She then disappeared into the grey void.

"Wait! …Ow, is there no one in this dreary place?", Noel asked herself and, with these words, continued her boring walk across the grey wastes of her headspace.

* * *

**Well, that time no fight broke out and no one fled crying, there**** is hope yet for them…**

**Mu's as of yet unnamed doppelgänger — whose naming convention I believe I found — should make her appearance in the next entry. To be honest, I was swamped with other obligations and was waiting for Chrono Phantasma because of something I was thinking of.**

**I'll stop that author note, thank you for reading and ask you to please review. Goodbye *bows and leaves***


	3. Enter the godslayer's shadow

**Hi everyone! Welcome to the third item of a drabble series inspired by Azuri-nyan's oneshot, Doppelganger.**

**Third element of this series: Enter the godslayer's shadow. This drabble is born from asking myself what could be Mu's doppelgänger. I'm afraid I might have miserably failed, but you never know…**

**Disclaimer: BlazBlue and its characters are not my property, but are Arc System Works's. Noelle is Azuri-nyan's property.**

**Before closing this author note, I'll thank Azuri-nyan for her authorisation to use Noelle and for having served as my beta reader.**

**Please enjoy that story!**

* * *

Noelle's eyes opened slowly. When her eyes came into focus, she got up suddenly, startled. For she wasn't in her forest lair, nor she was in the grey void between the minds of the tenants. Neither was she in Noel's bedroom nor in Mu's blinding white void. She was in a brightly coloured room, on a bed. Getting up, she noticed that she was bandaged and that she was, as far as she could see for boxes and shelves impeded her vision, alone in the room.

_"Damn, where am I…and who bandaged my wounds?"_, she pondered, checking her surroundings suspiciously to see her benefactor. Then, noticing a figure in the distance, she decided to approach it.

Apparently said figure had no wish to talk to Noelle, for she fled in the maze of boxes and shelves occupying the room.

"Damn it! Stop running away and let me talk to you!", barked Noelle, running after the figure.

"Hi hi hi! You're it, yay!", said the figure in a voice similar to Noelle's but with a childish tone.

"Stop right there you bloody fool! Who the hell are you?", she shouted, unnerved that someone she didn't know was occupying her space.

"I…am you…", said the figure, turning around and cocking her head in confusion.

Now that she was turning towards her, Noelle could see the similarities between them: the same face, the same body type and the same hair colour and texture. But there were also some differences: her eyes were bright blue, her hair featured a distinctive fray and she wore a red skirt and short sleeved jacket, with a dark grey long-sleeved shirt underneath.

"That bloody doll put you up to this didn't she…Who are you really?", Noelle brashly said, advancing aggressively towards the figure.

"I already said it before. I. Am. You." The girl stated those last three words empathetically.

"Stop playing with me! You don't even know my name!"

"It's Noelle, isn't it? And you're Noel Vermillion's doppelgänger, aren't you?", the girl said, taking a serious tone.

"Who are you really? And no jokes like « I am you » !", hissed Noelle, calling her scythe to her and narrowing her eyes in distrust.

The girl paused before speaking. "Jera-12, at your service!", she said with a big grin. "I am Mu's doppelgänger and I wanted to meet you! I am so happy!", she said, launching herself on Noelle to hug her.

Surprise made Noelle let go of her weapon and stay slack for a second, before she got back her bearings and got a stormy expression on her face. "Get off me!", she replied, extracting herself from Jera's embrace. "What do you want with me?", she demanded, clenching her fists and looking with an expression of repulsion at the overly cheerful red-clad girl.

"For you to lighten up! You shouldn't stay that gloomy every time! Life is beautifuul!", she replied, spinning around.

"What's it to you? I'll do what I want and stay as gloomy as I want," she shouted, her glare hardening when she realized the threat of this doppelgänger.

"I will never forgive _them_ nor will I forget how they blocked me from getting control, as is my due! I will have my revenge on Mu for her interference, I will show Noel how she should have lived our life…how she's shamelessly squandering it!", she said, obsession bordering madness clear in her tone. "And…above all…I _will_ have control even if there's nothing _left_ to have control over! And I _will_ get you too if you try to interfere…So don't get any ideas."

"But if you spend all your time obsessed with getting our body, you'll be as boring as Mu…she spends her time brooding about her purpose or destroying the world…", she says pouting. "So laugh! Enjoy the world!", she then says, smiling.

"But there's nothing to enjoy in that hell-hole!", she replied, tugging at her hair. "And don't you want to get out of here, to get in the sights of the worlds?", she says, honey coating her words.

"Y-yes, of course…", she replies, averting her eyes.

"Shouldn't you be bothering that thrice-damned doll to get out then?", she carried on, with that same honeyed tone. "Or that pitiful girl who _always_ gets to be in control…Rrraaah! It's not fair! I would be so much _better_ and I have to watch her screw up our life, I can't stand it!", she ranted, her temper getting once again the better of her.

"You see why you should lighten up? You're so obsessed by your quest that you cannot enjoy anything…"

"Don't you dare pity me!", Noel's doppelgänger roared. "You damn well know I have reason to be obsessed, as you put it: we're _nothing_! …But enough talking about me: didn't you try your hand at getting our body? I don't think you spent all your time playing games here when you could do it out there in the world.", she said waspishly.

"Y-yes, I did…", Jera replied, hanging down her head.

"So, what did happen during your take-over attempt-", she began to ask.

"-I-I don't think « take-over attempt » is the appropriate term…And besides it's not that interesting…", Mu's doppelgänger cut in, sweating profusely but turning aside to try against all hope to hide that fact.

Alas for her, Noelle picked up on that. "Oh? So you're afraid?" she said, her mood improving at the others expense. She smirked. "You better tell me what happened. After all, it wouldn't do to be so burdened by your past that you're unable to enjoy anything…" she said, her voice clearly full of fake sympathy.

"Well, I was fleeing Mu 'cause she's a brooding meanie who tried to use me as target practice when I asked her for permission to get our body when I chanced upon Noel. I tried to get our body from her but I didn't know how to do it so I proposed a game of tag to give me time to think about what to do, but I forgot what I was doing there and we played for the whole afternoon.", she said at a rapid-fire rate.

"Talk slower, I might have understood you.", deadpanned Noelle.

"And I don't know why, but she was always talking of homework I was distracting her from doing and wanted to leave.", she said pouting, oblivious to Noelle's jab.

"Well, fancy that: my oh-so-dear other persona who gets side-tracked from her obligations by a game of tag _in her head_. That's rich", she said, chuckling mirthlessly.

"H-hey, that's mean! And besides, it was such a good game of tag…Wait a second! You're distracting me!", she said, pointing an accusing finger to the black-clad girl.

"She's noticing it just _now_…I'm surrounded by idiots.", she replied, carelessly.

"We were talking about you! And that you need to lighten up!", Jera said, either deaf to or uncaring of Noelle's jab.

"But why? There's nothing to enjoy as an alternate half.", Noelle flatly replied.

"I'll show you what to enjoy! Let's play a game!"

"What about…no. I'll let you to your childish attempts to believe this empty world is of any interest while I'll do productive things like finding a way to get that body I seek. I have no time for silliness like « enjoying life » while I'm here."

"But what will you do once you're out there, as you put it? How will you enjoy life then?", Jera asked, desperate to make Noelle see her point.

"…I…", Noelle stayed speechless at this question, having never thought of what to do in the real world, but unwilling to admit it.

"You see? You wouldn't even know what to do once you took our body…", Jera said, raising her hands to the sky. "So no need to work yourself into an early grave! Laugh and be merry, and tomorrow will be happier for it! I have an idea, let's play a game! Say…a game of hide-and-seek!"

"Mmm…no. I _need_ to find a way to get that body without having Mu sending me back here as fast as she can. I'm sure I'll have time to find what to do after", she said cockily.

"Rrraaah! You're impossible! Out, out, OUT!", Jera said, pointing to a light behind Noelle's right shoulder.

"Oh? So you don't want me to lighten up?", she replied, raising an eyebrow.

"There's no point at trying if you're that determined not to enjoy anything…Go and stay as depressingly negative as you are.", she said sombrely. "I just hope you'll get your mind off your quest and enjoy life before regretting it."

"Eh, don't worry your little empty head over it. I _will_ get our body and then…I'll have all the time in the world to enjoy myself.", she replied dismissively, heading towards the light.

_"Is she right? Will I really be able to enjoy life with our body? …No, I shouldn't let that simpleton get to me. I will enjoy it, I _must_ enjoy it…I need to…"_

* * *

Jera watched her fellow doppelgänger leave with a sombre expression.

_"Noelle…I hope you'll think about how to enjoy yourself before it is too late…We won't be forever…"_

* * *

**And that's Mu's doppelgänger entrance! Her name comes from the twelfth rune in the 24-element Elder Futhark, Jera (also called Jeran or Jeraz and written thus: ᛃ)**

**Well, the "Murakumo's doppelgänger" naming convention being found (rune names), I think the next drabble will be between Mu and her double, but we shall see.**

**I'll stop that author note, thank you for reading and ask you to please review. Goodbye *bows and leaves***


End file.
